Not Alone
by musikmonkie
Summary: Sequel to 'On the Street' Danny's sister comes looking for help.  She finds love, understanding, friendship, and that she is not alone.  DannyXOC SteveXOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own H50

Author's Note: Ok guys, here it is! The sequel to my "On the Street" story! Thank you for all of you who reviewed/favorited/alerted that story. I hope you enjoy this one! (if you haven't read it, you should! Lol though you could probably understand this one without reading that one. But you should still read it. XD)

Chapter One

It was a brisk spring morning in New Jersey with cars hustling down the road, street vendors yelling on the streets. The air was heavy with the smell of exhaust and hog dogs and too many people in too little space but the inhabitants were so use to it, they didn't even notice. It was just another day.

For Claire Williams, it was not just another day. Even though the sun was shining outside her kitchen window, she couldn't feel more blue. She was currently laying on her kitchen floor, trying not to move as the throbbing all over her body protested even her breathing. Each breath was shallow and riddled with pain. Her eye was swelling and her throat burned under the bruises that were forming in the shape of a large hand around her neck. She would need to pull out a scarf to help hide this latest round. If she didn't want the bruise on her eye to get so bad she couldn't conceal it, she'd have to get herself up and to the freezer for an ice pack soon. If he returned and she was still on the floor, it would only infuriate him further and she would have even more bruises to worry about. But still, she remained where she was.

She didn't really know how her life came to be this bad. She was a Williams, a tough, take no prisoners, be in control Williams and yet she'd managed to lose everything and become the quiet, submissive girlfriend that she swore she would never be. Now, she needed help. As a Williams, it didn't come easy to ask for help and she'd been determined to make it though this on her own. That is until last night when her big brother, Danny, called from Hawaii to check on her. Their brother, Matt had really screwed up his life and in the aftermath, caused Danny some real heartache. He'd called to check on her, to apologize for not being a better brother and to let her know that he loved her. Claire had almost told him the truth, but she didn't.

Instead, she told him how everything was ok. How she changed jobs since the last time they had spoken and was now a dance instructor at a local studio. How Glen just got a promotion at work and they were thinking about buying a house. How she missed him and they really should talk more.

Glen had gotten home just as she said good bye. He ripped the phone from her hand and looked at the caller ID. Furious with her for talking to her family, which he had strictly forbidden, Glen had knocked her around and left her on the kitchen floor as he stormed out of the house.

But hearing her big brother's voice after nearly two years of not speaking to anyone in the family, hearing that he still loved her, had stirred something in Claire. As she lay on the kitchen floor, broken and bruised and so low the only place she could go was up, she mustered up the resolve and determination that had been buried for so long. Her brother had reminded her of one thing: that she was not alone.

Carefully, she pushed herself up off the floor, grimacing as the bruises dotting her body screamed in protest. A glance at the clock above the stove told her it was ten o'clock. Glen would come home for lunch to check on her in two hours. As she shuffled down the hall to the bedroom and pulled out a suitcase, she was determined to be long gone by then.

…

"Danny, come on!" Leilah rolled her eyes to the ceiling and stood, hands on hips, in Danny's small apartment, waiting for him to come out of the bathroom. "You've been in there gripping about getting shot for an hour. Our reservation is for seven and we're going to be late if you don't get a move on."

The bathroom door opened and a very annoyed Danny stepped out. Leilah could see the bandage wrapped around his arm as he shrugged into his crisp white shirt. She couldn't help but grin at the sight of his bare chest under the open shirt, with his black slacks hung loosely on his hips.

"Alright, alright," Danny muttered as he looked around for his tie. "Of course, I wouldn't have to complain if I had a normal partner, that did normal things and didn't try to turn every little situation into a damn Wild West shoot out. He could have at least warned me to duck before instigating the whole incident."

Leilah smiled as she picked up Danny's tie and wrapped it around his neck. She rested her hands on his chest, enjoying the feel of the muscles rippling beneath her fingers before she began buttoning up his shirt, "Let's not think about it tonight. You promised me a nice, romantic dinner with no talk about work."

As she buttoned the last button, Danny slid his arms around her and pulled her close. He placed a light kiss on her lips before kissing just below her ear, "We could just skip to desert."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Leilah grinned as she kissed him back. The idea of dinner becoming far less appealing as Danny backed her up to the wall and deepened the kiss. His knee slid between her legs and she curled her fingers through his hair. Danny's hand dropped to her thigh and he slowly began working his way back up when a knock at the door pulled them apart.

"Damn it," Danny muttered, resting his head on Leilah's shoulder. "That Steve has the worst possible timing ever! I'm not going to let him in. He can sit out on the porch all night for all I care."

"If you don't get it, he'll pick the lock and come in anyway," Leilah reasoned.

With a groan, Danny ran a hand though his hair to straighten the mussed locks and opened the door, ready for an all out rant aimed at Steve and his horrible timing. Only, it wasn't Steve standing on his front porch. A woman a few inches taller than himself with long blond hair stood there. She wore large sunglasses, a thin scarf, jeans and a t shirt under a light jacket. A large suitcase rested on the ground beside her.

"Claire?" Danny finally found his voice, his brow crinkled with concern and confusion.

"Hey Danny," She gave him a nervous smile before her gaze drifted back to Leilah who had come to stand behind Danny. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Claire fidgeted with the zipper on her jacket. "I should have called first."

Danny opened the door wider to let her in and reached for her suitcase, "Don't be silly, come in. Come in. What are you doing here?"

Danny ushered Claire to the couch, which was currently folded up into a couch rather than his usual bed. Leilah went to close the door only to have a hand shot out and stop her. Steve grinned at her, glancing down at her little black dress.

"Am I interrupting?" He teased.

Danny glanced over his shoulder, "Oh, geez, I should have known you would find your way here, too. Well, come in, you're letting the mosquitoes in."

Steve sauntered in and spotted Claire, now perched nervously on the couch; Danny was busy stowing her suitcase in the corner. "Hi," Steve held out his hand, "I'm Steve McGarrett."

Claire glanced at his outstretched hand but didn't shake it. If Steve didn't know any better, he would say she looked fearful, "I'm Claire. Claire Williams."

Steve's eyebrows shot up, "You're Danny's sister? You never told me you had a sister, Danny. Though I should have known, she dresses like she's from the mainland."

"Be nice, Steve," Leilah also held out her hand and this time, Claire tentatively shook it. "I'm Leilah. Steve and I both work with Danny."

"But only Leilah gets overtime hours with him," Steve winked at Claire and was glad when her lips broke into a small smile. He may not have been trained as a real cop, but he could definitely tell there was something going on with Claire. She was tense, nervous and only made eye contact for a second before looking to the floor.

Danny could sense it, too. He took a seat beside his sister and held her hand in his, "Is everything ok?"

"Um," Claire glanced at Leilah and Steve but it was impossible to read her expression with her eyes still hidden behind her sunglasses. "I-I just," Her voice faltered as she turned back to Danny. Taking a deep breath and telling herself that she could it, she _had _to do it, she pushed the words out of her mouth, "I need help, Danny."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own H50.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! They are like fuel to the flame and always help to get the creative chi flowing. :)

Chapter Two

"I need help, Danny," Claire's voice was weak and shaky as she uttered the words. Before Danny could ask, she extracted her hand from his and removed her sunglasses. Steve could tell the bruise around her eye was a few days old but the purples and greens were still fierce and without the sunglasses, he could tell her cheek was slightly swollen. Danny stared at the bruise, his expression hard and his jaw clenched. Claire's hands fell to the scarf around her neck and Steve's gut tightened as he knew what was coming. With the scarf gone, they could see the angry bruise of a hand around her throat.

A tear slid down Claire's cheek as she raised her eyes to meet her brother's, "I'm so sorry, Danny."

Danny's voice was strained as he clenched his fists. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

Her voice was barely audible as Claire replied, "Glen."

Steve was pretty sure Glen was the boyfriend and when Danny shot off the couch and slammed his fist into the wall, he was sure. Claire was a victim of domestic abuse and she'd come to her brother for help. Steve had to admire her, it took a lot for battered women to finally say enough and to seek help.

Leilah rushed to Danny's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. Danny took several deep breaths before turning back to Claire, "He's lucky he's in Jersey and I'm here in Hawaii."

"I'm so sorry," Claire repeated, wringing the scarf in her hands.

Steve dropped to his knees before Claire but was careful not to touch her, "It's not your fault, Claire. You've done nothing wrong, Glen is the one that is sick and needs help. It took a lot of courage for you to come here and get help from Danny."

Claire hesitated before meeting his gaze. Her eyes were clear blue like the ocean and her long lashes framed them perfectly. Steve wanted to wrap his arms around her and protect her from this shady Glen character, but he refrained.

Danny paced behind Steve, his hands flying through the air, clenching and unclenching, "Steve's right, this isn't your fault. And if I ever get my hands on Glen, he's going to regret every laying a hand on you. I mean, who does that putz think he is? He can't get away with hitting my little sister. In fact, I'm going to call some of my old buddies and have them talk to Glen, maybe throw his ass in jail and see how he takes to being someone's-"

"Danny," Leilah snapped. She dropped to sit beside Claire and put a protective arm around her, "We're here to help you, Claire."

Claire met Leilah's gaze and gave her a small smile. She looked to her brother, who nodded his agreement, to Steve, her brother's partner whose deep blue eyes were caring but she was sort of afraid to trust, and back to Leilah. She could feel the dark cloud that seemed to be hovering over her lift. For the first time in years, she felt hope again.

…

Claire bit her lip nervously as she gazed across the parking lot to the grand hotel towering before her. A valet station ushered cars away to be parked neat and secure until their owners needed them. Tourists floated in and out the doors with happy grins lighting their faces just as the sun lit the sky. They all seemed so carefree, so happy, but experience told Claire that looks weren't always accurate.

"I'm not so sure about this," Claire mumbled, her hand frozen on the door handle.

"Listen to me," Danny turned in the driver's seat to look into his sister's eyes. "You can do this. You're a nice, friendly person who has all the qualities and more that they are looking for. You're smart. You're strong, and nothing is standing between you and this job."

"What if I can't do it?" The words were barely audible and Danny really wished he could beat the bastard that made his sister feel like she wasn't even good enough to handle a job as a housekeeper.

Danny took Claire's hand in his, his voice firm but also caring, "You can do it. I know you can; you are my little sister after all, and there's nothing a Williams' can't do." He smiled and was relieved when she smiled back. "Now, you're going to go in there, amaze them with your charm and talent, and get that job. You have to believe in yourself," He chucked her under the chin and smiled.

Claire took a deep breath and nodded, "I can do this." She muttered the mantra to herself all the way across the parking lot and into the building. When she got to the reception desk, she was nervous, her legs felt like jelly, but she stayed calm and held her head high, hoping she looked a lot more in control than she felt. "I'm here for an interview with Mr. Duncan."

The receptionist pointed her in the right direction and she found herself in a modestly decorated office that over looked the vast expanse of beach behind the hotel. A softly rounding man in his late forties stood when she entered and shook her hand, introducing himself as Mr. Mark Duncan. Claire calmly shook his hand, but flinched on the inside, a natural reaction to any touch these days.

"You are applying to our housekeeping staff, is that correct?" Mr. Duncan got right to the point, motioning for her to sit in a chair opposite his desk.

"Yes, sir," Claire replied.

"From the looks of your resume, you don't have any experience," He perused the resume that Claire and Danny had worked hard to put together a few days earlier. "You've never worked in the hospitality industry, or even in customer service. What makes you think you'd be good for this job?"

Claire took a deep breath and answered the question just as she'd done when practicing with Danny. She'd felt ridiculous practicing the interview, but knew that Danny was only trying to build up her confidence. Glen would have laughed at her ridiculousness, would have used it to make her feel small so he could control her. Shoving aside thoughts of her ex, she squared her shoulders and told herself that she could do this, she was strong, "As you can see from my resume, I'm a dancer. One of the most valuable traits a dancer can have is to be a quick learner. Sometimes, only a few days are all you get to learn a new routine and be able to pull it off seamlessly. I may not have experience, but I am a quick learner and I hope you will give me the chance to prove it."

Mr. Duncan nodded his head, thinking, "It says here you belonged to a dance company, but resigned in order to take a position as an instructor at a studio. Why the change?"

"I felt that the opportunity to help others improve would be more satisfying," Claire repeated the answer just as she had practiced. The real reason was once again Glen. He felt like they didn't have enough time together while she worked with the company, so he forced her to resign and take up teaching instead. It was not long after that that he'd hit her for the first time.

"Do you know how to make beds, clean bathrooms, do laundry and other cleaning tasks that you will have to perform while on duty?" Mr. Duncan raised his eyes to her in question.

A small smile tugged at Claire's lips, "Sir, I'm part Italian, a woman, and from Jersey. If there's one thing my mama made sure I knew before leaving her house, it was how to keep an immaculate house."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own H50

Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews and for all the favorites/watches. ^^ This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I have good things planned in the upcoming chapters!

Chapter Three

"Hi, my name is Claire."

"Hi, Claire," A chorus of voices responded.

Claire wrung her hands nervously as she gazed around the circle at all the women now watching her. They were a variety of ages, the oldest maybe in her late thirties, the youngest looking like she still belonged in high school. Two smartly dressed men were the only men in the group and each had a clip board resting on his lap.

Taking a steady breath, Claire continued, "I just moved here from New Jersey. My brother lives here and I thought if I came out here, he could help me. Jersey just didn't feel safe without him, you know."

One of the men, Clark was his name, made a note on his clip board, "How long were you a victim, Claire?"

Claire blinked, taken aback by the label she had never thought to put on herself, "I'm not a victim."

Dave, the other counselor, nodded, "That's right, Claire. We are all in control of our lives, we're all fighting to build ourselves up. We're not victims, we're fighters. What Clark meant was how long were you in the bad relationship?"

"Sorry," Claire mumbled. "Um, I was with Glen for five years. At first, he was charming. I thought I was so lucky to have him. He started saying things after the first year, like I was stupid or I couldn't do anything right. The first time he hit me, he told me I deserved it and I believed him. I let myself become dependent on him, let me tell me what I could or couldn't do, who I could see or talk to. My brother called after two years of not talking, just to tell me he loved me. That's when I decided to leave Glen. I didn't want him to control me anymore."

One of the women sitting next to me took hold of my hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. "That's very good," Dave said. "You've been through a lot but now you have the opportunity to take control of your life and be who you want to be."

Another woman raised her hand, "I found it helpful when I first left Lewis to express myself in how I dressed and what I looked like."

"Like a make-over?" Dave nodded, "That's a great idea, Hope. You ladies are strong, powerful women. It's time to unlock that part of yourself and not let anyone else rule your life. Take control. Be strong."

…

Claire pulled her ten year old, newly acquired and newly running – thanks to Danny and Steve – truck up to the Palace. 5-0 was between cases right now, only hanging around the office to finish a mountain of paperwork that needed to be completed. She had made plans to meet Leilah as soon as the work day ended so she opened the door, swung down from the cab and headed into the building. When she entered the 5-0 office, she was immediately swept up by Leilah who hugged her before taking her hand and pulling her further into the office to meet everyone.

"This is Chin Ho Kelly," Leilah introduced the Hawaiian, who smiled warmly and shook Claire's hand. Claire only flinched a little so she considered that a huge improvement and did a little happy dance in her mind. She was strong and she was in control. Take that, Glen. Next, Leilah was introduced to a Hawaiian woman, "Kono. She's going to accompany us on our little excursion today."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Claire shook Kono's hand.

"Nice to meet you, too," Kono grinned. "I hear you're our Haole's little sister; don't worry, I won't hold that against you."

They all laughed as Steve and Danny come out of Steve's office. Danny frowned, "Don't let her ruin your image of me as the perfect, saintly brother, Claire."

"She doesn't need Kono's help with that," Steve teased.

Danny flung his hands up, "Really? What is this? I knew you guys were all planning my early demise but bringing my innocent little sister into it is just low, even for you, Steve."

"Where are you guys going?" Steve asked as the girls turned to leave.

"Girl time, bro," Kono replied over her shoulder. "See you all at the boss's house later for a Bar-b-que!"

Steve gave her one of his classic looks, "Was I just volunteered for something?" Chin and Danny only laughed.

"Just don't stay out too late," Danny called after them only to be met with vague waves and whatevers.


End file.
